#harpoonbrewing

Harpoon: Winter Warmer

Pour: Appearance is a rusty orange amber.

Bouquet: Smells fruity and spicy, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Some cherries present. Malty sweetness.

Taste: Fruity, syrupy sweetness. Caramel malt. Candied Cherries. Almost like fruitcake.

Mouth-Feel: Light bodied, small bubbles but medium carbonation

Overall: The roasted malt is nice and pleasantly light. It has some nods to a Belgian style but isn't as heavy bodied, or as spicy/sweet. Great for introducing novices to beer brewed with spices, especially for the lighter palate.

Cheers,

~William Millman

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We have just brought in Harpoon Brewing's UFO (Unfiltered Object) White ale on draft.  This is a Belgian-style white ale, a style of beer that was started by the famous Hoegaarden Brewery in 1445.

Harpoon brings to it the idea of unfiltered beer, creating a hazy look but it has more nutrients (flavonoids and polyphenols due to the wheat) and a variety of flavors that would be lost due to filtration.  They also use several spices that are traditional to the style and some that set them apart.

Traditionally, there is a particular debate amongst beer drinkers of this style, fruit or no fruit.  Some say all witbeers like this need a slice of orange in them, others say no way, no fruit in my beer.  The orange or lemon was originally added to help offset the taste of the yeast in the beer with its citric acid, since Belgian beers tend to be a bit more yeast forward than other brewing nations.  Some say the tradition was originally a lemon, and was added in some German bars about 25 years ago, who prefer the crisper lagers than the yeasty ales.

The traditionally used Belgian yeast creates a citrus note already in the beer, and this is especially noteable in Harpoon's white.  Oh and adding the fruit instantly destroys the head of the beer, which is where most of the volatile molecules that contribute directly to our sense of smell are located...  In other words, I would love for you to try it without the fruit first.

For me, I will pass on the orange because I love the yeasty notes offered by beer and think it has enough citrus in it to make it very drinkable and thirst-quenching, but to those who need the orange, we will have plenty waiting for you!